PLASMA TREATMENT FOR ACTIVATION OF SURFACE PROPERTIES AND FUNCTIONING IN POLYAMIDE FABRIC
Vector-borne diseases concern several endemic regions and despite the fact they are mostly recurrent, they lack effective programs for the prevention and transmission control, which are the most effective way to prevent its occurrence according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Insect repellent fabric application is an effective action to prevent and control transmission by avoiding mosquito approximation and bite. Permethrin is a common synthetic chemical, widely used as an insect repellent. The objective of this research is the analysis of the treatment of polyamide 6.6 fabric using hybrid plasma discharge corona-double dielectric barrier (corona-DBD) along with permethrin-based monomers (15%), aiming to enhance insect repellency characteristics in polyamide fabrics. The plasma reactor was developed by the Aeronautics Institute of Technology (ITA) through The Plasmas and Processes Laboratory (LPP). The electrical characterization of the discharge was performed by measuring the power transferred by the Lissajous figure method. Before the polymerization process, the fabric was exposed to plasma discharge at atmospheric pressure in a controlled environment to carry out the surface activation process, using air as an oxidizing agent. The operational discharge conditions were used in the polymerization processes in a fixed plasma dosage. The surface properties were analyzed by measuring the contact angle of the treated samples and the fabric chemical changes were analyzed by Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to confirm the polymerization (deposition) of permethrin on the fabric surface. The FEG / EDS analysis will indicate impacts on the fabric surface when exposed to plasma activation and polymerization processes. The measurements indicated positive results in the surface activation properties and the FTIR spectroscopy positively indicated the permethrin polymerization in the sample. The results obtained were therefore satisfactory considering the project proposal.